BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — Discussing the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in school is different now because most of today’s students weren’t even born when two planes crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York.

Local schools mostly rely on teachers to discuss what happened that day 14 years ago because textbooks don’t include much on it. Videos and other resources also help students learn about the terror attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.

Middle school history teacher Mike Policky says he always tells students about what that day was like watching news coverage of the events as they unfolded.

Policky says he also emphasizes the selflessness and patriotism that followed the terrorist attacks.

GERING, Neb. (AP) — Work has begun on an expansion project at the Wildcat Hills Nature Center in western Nebraska.

The $2.4 million expansion will add more than 8,700 square feet to the building south of Gering. The facility serves as headquarters for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s educational programs in the area and the 700-acre Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area.

Project additions include an exhibit space and large multipurpose room to support events and educational activities. An upper level with an observation deck will be built to give visitors a view of the park and North Platte valley below. Groups will be allowed to rent the facility for events such as meetings, conferences and weddings.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A proposed wastewater dumping site in western Nebraska is prompting lawmakers to take a new look at the state’s oil and natural gas regulations, which opponents say are too lax.

The Legislature’s Natural Resources Committee will meet in Sidney on Sept. 22 to hear comments about a little-known state commission that approved a controversial disposal well requested by a Colorado energy company.

Sens. John Stinner of Gering and Ken Haar of Malcolm have both launched research studies to examine the state’s regulations and the role of the Nebraska Oil and Conservation Commission. Haar says he’s concerned that the commission is both a regulator and industry cheerleader.

Commission Executive Director Bill Sydow says the agency is independent, and all of its decisions can be overturned by the courts.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Authorities say there has been a sharp decline in the manufacture of methamphetamine in several Midwestern states that have had the most trouble with the drug, but it remains as popular as ever due to an influx of cheap Mexican imports.

Laws restricting the sale of an ingredient found in many cold medicines and key to making meth seem to have had their intended effect. The Drug Enforcement Administration doesn’t provide partial-year data on meth lab seizures, but drug fighters in several states that generally register the most meth lab busts say they’ve seen a startling decline.

Missouri is on pace for 40 percent fewer meth lab seizures this year, while Oklahoma’s are down 33 percent and Tennessee’s are down 48 percent.

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — Livestock have been quarantined on a western Nebraska farm following the diagnosis of a disease that can hamper an animal’s ability to eat and drink.

The Nebraska Agriculture Department says a U.S. Department of Agriculture laboratory recently confirmed the diagnosis of vesicular stomatitis. The sample was taken from an infected horse on a farm in Scotts Bluff County.

The virus that causes vesicular stomatitis is spread by insects and from animal to animal through open sores and saliva. The virus causes painful oral blisters and sores and can affect cattle, horses, pigs, sheep, goats and other animals.

The USDA says vesicular stomatitis generally isn’t fatal, but it can cause economic losses to livestock producers. Humans can become infected when handling ailing animals, but the USDA says that rarely happens.

COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lottery officials say time is running out to claim a winning $104,000 lottery ticket sold in Columbus.

The holder of the Nebraska Pick 5 ticket bought for the April 8 drawing at a local Super Saver has until Oct. 5 to claim the prize.

The ticket matched all five of the winning numbers — 8, 11, 30, 32 and 34 — for the $104,000 jackpot. Nebraska Lottery Lotto tickets expire 180 days after the drawing.

The jackpot must be claimed in Lincoln at Nebraska Lottery Headquarters.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office says a petition drive to overturn the repeal of the state’s death penalty appears to have met the threshold to get the issue on the ballot.

As of Friday, county officials from around the state reported verifying 65,171 of the nearly 166,000 signatures turned in by petition organizers.

The Secretary of State’s Office says there are nearly 1.139 million registered voters in Nebraska. Organizers needed valid signatures from 5 percent of registered voters, or just under 57,000, to put the issue on the November 2016 general election ballot.

The effort needs 10 percent of registered voters’ signature to prevent the death penalty repeal passed by lawmakers last spring from going into effect until the vote occurs.

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• Anthony Allen Wagner, 27, Maxwell NE and Austinn Rose Wipf, 25, Maxwell NE

• Scott Russell Finney, 40, Mullen NE and Tammy Jean Harm, 57, North Platte NE

• Christopher Scott Hammatt, 45, Murrieta, CA and Susan Elizabeth Hammatt, 41, Murrieta, CA

• Ryan Jon Scott Shockley, 33, North Platte NE and Kimberly Ann Merritt, 34, North Platte NE

• John James Malcomson, 40, North Platte NE and Laura Jean Baker, 40, North Platte NE

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska is now in line to receive $52 million from the federal government to help pay for a new state veterans’ home in Kearney.

Gov. Pete Ricketts announced Friday that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has set aside partial grant funding for the project.

The new $121 million facility will replace the outdated home in Grand Island.

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services signed a contract with a Kearney architectural firm in June 2014 to begin design work for the project.

Courtney Phillips, the department’s CEO, says the state will receive the money if it completes the next round of federal requirements within 180 days. The requirements include final architectural drawings and specifications, an advertisement for construction bids, and submittal of the final application.